South Africa's Pan-African credibility tested as xenophobic violence strains regional ties

Cyril Ramaphosa stood before Parliament this week and made a direct claim: South Africa’s standing among its African neighbors remains intact. The President’s remarks came in response to parliamentary questions about whether attacks on foreign nationals and anti-migrant sentiment had cost the country its credibility as a Pan-African voice.

For the people most directly caught in that tension, the government’s position matters in concrete terms. Foreign nationals living in South Africa have faced xenophobia, Afrophobia and vigilantism, and Ramaphosa was unambiguous in rejecting all of it. That rejection, he said, has been both firm and public.

The government’s broader response rests on a framework built around the rule of law, human dignity and stronger state institutions. In practice, that means tightening border management, tackling corruption inside the immigration system, opening improved legal migration pathways and implementing the White Paper on Citizenship, Migration and Refugee Protection. Ramaphosa framed these measures as serving two purposes at once: rebuilding public confidence in the state’s ability to manage migration, and ensuring South Africa honors its constitutional and international obligations to the people who cross its borders.

Regional cooperation has become central to that effort. South Africa proactively placed migration on the agenda at the 46th Ordinary SADC Summit, hosted in eThekwini earlier this month, rather than waiting for neighboring leaders to raise their concerns. The summit’s communiqué called for coordinated, multidimensional dialogue at the regional level to address the underlying drivers of migration and develop responses that are comprehensive, sustainable and effective. The country has also reinforced its commitments through the African Union and bilateral work with partner states on migration governance and burden sharing.

Meanwhile, direct engagement with foreign leaders has run alongside the multilateral work. International Relations and Cooperation Minister Ronald Lamola has traveled to several countries as the President’s Special Envoy, holding discussions with regional heads of state. Ramaphosa noted that Lamola was well received in Ghana and other nations, describing the engagements as generally positive.

Contrary to suggestions of diplomatic isolation, Ramaphosa told Parliament that conversations at his level with various heads of state have revealed genuine understanding of the pressures South Africa is navigating. Many countries, he said, have characterized migration as a complex problem requiring collective solutions and have expressed willingness to work with Pretoria to address it. The President’s full remarks are referenced in official government communications at https://www.sanews.gov.za/south-africa/president-ramaphosa-sa-remains-respected-pan-african-actor.

Ramaphosa acknowledged that coordinating meetings with foreign leaders can sometimes prove difficult. The overall trajectory, he insisted, has been encouraging.

What remains to be seen is whether that diplomatic goodwill translates into the kind of regional burden-sharing framework the eThekwini communiqué called for, and whether the legal migration pathways under development will reach the people who need them most before the next flashpoint arrives.